If you dial 9-1-1 by mistake, DO NOT HANG UP. Stay on the line and explain that you do not actually have an emergency. If a caller hangs up without stating the problem, a police officer will be dispatched to the location of the caller in order to ensure that no actual emergency exists. At the very least, hanging up will waste an officer’s time; more importantly it may affect the speedy response to one of your neighbors that has an emergency.

One common misconception that citizens have about dialing 9-1-1 by mistake is they will somehow get into trouble. This is not true!